Drinking Water and Sanitation in the Developing World: The Miskito Coast of Nicaragua and Honduras as a Case Study

Abstract

Worldwide, one billion people are without access to safe drinking water, and three billion lack minimally acceptable sanitation facilities. Impediments to addressing these inad­equacies in the public health infrastructure are complex, with institutional, political, economic, and cultural dimensions. This paper focuses on water and sanitation in rural areas of the developing world, using the Caribbean coast of Honduras and Nicaragua as a case study to provide context for discussion of the global problem. The analysis suggests that political and economic commitments required to mitigate shortcomings in water and sanitation services are 1) underestimated but 2) within reach nonetheless.